Basic Trope: There are two couples in the story: one is always bickering and another is always sweet and calm.
- Straight: Alice and Bob act nice and loving towards each other while Charlie and Debbie have Belligerent Sexual Tension at its finest.
- Exaggerated:
- Alice and Bob are Sickeningly Sweethearts while Charlie and Debbie look like they're having a fight to the death.
- Alice and Charlie are on one side of a conflict while Bob and Debbie are on another. Alice and Bob try there best to convince their sides to make peace while seeing each other in secret, while Charlie and Debbie push their sides into conflict because of their secret attraction to another.
- Downplayed: Alice and Bob have their moments of bickering, but they mostly stay in the realm of Snark-to-Snark Combat, while Charlie and Debbie's infamous fights often escalate to physical violence.
- Justified:
- Alice and Bob like the traditional style of romance while Charlie and Debbie need thrill and snark in everything, including romance.
- Each couple have similar personalities - Alice and Bob are friendly and patient people while Charlie and Debbie are temperamental which causes them to argue a lot.
- Subverted:
- It seems like that at first glance... but Charlie and Debbie turn out to be real enemies.
- It seems like that... until Alice and Bob turn out to be real enemies, and the sweetness is just sarcasm.
- All four of them are secret agents on a task. They enforce this trope to avoid any possible suspicion.
- In private, there's the exact opposite: Alice and Bob's relationship is on the rocks and they fight all the time, and Charlie and Debbie coo like two doves.
- Double Subverted:
- And then Charlie and Debbie really fall in love.
- ...Or Alice and Bob.
- ...Or both couples.
- Parodied: In a double wedding ceremony, Alice and Bob tie the knot with one kiss while Charlie and Debbie tie the knot by arguing and beating each other up.
- Zig Zagged: Depending on the situation, Alice and Bob get along and then get into a fight while Charlie and Debbie argue then get along.
- Averted: Both couples act similar. Or there is only one couple. Or there is no romance arc at all.
- Enforced: The writer knows some fans like the peaceful couples and some fans like the bickering ones, so they put both types into the story to please all readers.
- Lampshaded: "Here is our perfect couple. And here are the two mortal en... I mean, another perfect couple. You know, like in Jane Austen's stories."
- Invoked: "Look at how lovey-dovey Alice and Bob are with each other, Debbie. It's so annoying. Let's act like we hate each other just to get rid of the annoying atmosphere."
- Exploited: ???
- Defied: ???
- Discussed:Eric: "I'm so sick of hearing Charlie and Debbie's bickering! Why can't they be more like Alice and Bob?"
Fred: I think that's their "unique" way of showing their love for each other. - Conversed: ???
- Played For Drama: Charlie and Debbie are always bitter towards each other, chewing each other on their flaws. Alice and Bob, who love each other dearly, are worried about how Charlie and Debbie's differences are ruining their relationship and offer to help them solve them, but the two angrily reject their help and their relationship gradually falls apart.
Back to Bickering Couple, Peaceful Couple
